Angels of Fate
by Zane's Girl- Jo
Summary: Welcome to Glinda Merta Community Hospital, where life & death meet & fight for control. Fate has a way of testing limitations, & when we decide to play God, it can change the rules; even destroy not only our hated enemies, but our most cherished friends.
1. Chapter 1

**Angels of Fate**

**Rifiuto: Non Miriena**

**Summary: Welcome to Glinda Merta Community Hospital, where life and death meet and fight for control. At twenty-eight, Dr. Elphaba Thropp is one of the top doctors at Glinda Merta. She's one of the many that help save the living, and comfort the dead. Love, life, passion, faith, comfort, and death come into play at Glinda Merta, and when the hospital faces the possiblity of its doors closing forever, the doctors are put to the test with some of their most trying cases. It's a cat and mouse game, where the slip of a hand can bring fatal results. And as the doctors race against the clock to save those in need, they soon discover, that they're also trying to save one of their own. But fate has a funny way of testing our limitations, and when we decide to play God, it can change the rules, and even go so far as to destroy not only our hated enemies, but also our most cherished friends.**

_Glinda Merta Community Hospital, 1986_

The huge, white building towered over you as you neared it. Hundreds of windows stared at you, from all floors. In front of the hospital, on the side of the entry walkway, sat a big sign.

Glinda Merta Community Hospital

Inside, it buzzed with the activity of patients and staff.

On the ground floor, in the locker room, a twenty-eight-year-old young woman was putting her things away. Dr. Elphaba Thropp had always been fascinated with the doctors and hospitals, and had gone into the medicine field when she was eighteen and got to college. Part of it had been because her younger sister, Nessa had been inflicted with polio when she was a child, losing the use of her legs. They'd done everything for her, but the girl had died at ten. After that, Elphaba was determined to help others like Nessa. Now, she was one of the most respected doctors in Oz.

Elphaba had joined the team at Glinda Merta Community Hospital here in Shiz in 1977 as an intern at nineteen, and gotten her M.D. in medicine a year later, before becoming a full-fledged doctor at Glinda Merta. She had a way with patients that most doctors didn't have, and connected with them on a personal level. Her life was entirely dedicated to saving lives, that she didn't have time to save her own.

The young woman hadn't had a relationship since she was fifteen- and that one lasted three days. Saving lives was wonderful and all, but the girl needed to get a life outside the hospital. Not that her sex life had suffered much; she'd lost it on the first day of that three day relationship. But still, a life outside of operating rooms and patient files was a _good_ thing.

"Hey Elphie." The raven-head looked up, seeing a young woman with red hair enter the locker room.

"Hey Milla."

Dr. Milla Fenvu had stumbled into her profession by mistake. Not able to make up her mind about a major, she decided to take a few courses in medicine until she straightened out her major. Turns out, she liked the courses so much, she decided to become a doctor. She had joined Glinda Merta in 1975, at seventeen- she'd skipped a few grades in school, and graduated early.

Unlike Elphaba, who's whole life seemed to gravitate and exist around the hospital, Milla's ventured beyond the double doors of the hospital. She'd had several unsuccessful relationships over the years, including her whole attempt at self-discovery and subsiquent failure to do so, which also tied into her experimentations with bisexualism, which had started when she was fourteen. Milla was an early bloomer- an_ exceedingly_ early bloomer.

And that's where the two girls collided; Milla helped pull Elphaba out of her shell, and Elphaba helped reign Milla in when needed. They'd become best friends over the last few years, trusting each other with their most personal secrets, and spending time outside the hospital together. In all, it was a good friendship.

"So, how was your date with Avaric last night?" Elphaba asked, twisting her long, raven hair into a messy bun at the back of her head. She brushed a loose strand off her harlequin green forehead, and wrinkled her nose at the clock.

"It went well." Milla replied, as she pulled her coat out of her locker. Elphaba raised an eyebrow.

"Well?" The other woman looked at her.

"Yeah. Well." She said, as she pulled the coat on.

"You got laid, didn't you?" After a moment, Milla replied.

"Yeah." Elphaba rolled her eyes, and closed her locker, before heading out to the main hall, Milla following. "You know, Elphie, I think that's your problem."

"What? That I don't date?" Elphaba asked, as Milla followed behind.

"_No_. That you don't get laid often enough." The green-skinned woman rolled her eyes.

"I do not need to get laid, Mil. I'm just fine without the sex. I have lives to save. And so do you." She said, going to the reception desk and picking up the top file. Then, she pulled it open, and quickly scanned it. "Besides, who said I didn't have a personal life? I do. But sometimes, they can be so... over...rated." Then, with one last glance at her friend, she turned, scanned the waiting room. "Glinda?"

A little girl with blonde curls looked up, and got off the chair she was sitting on, following her parents as they went to the doctor. Elphaba smiled and nodded to the parents.

"Hi. I'm Dr. Thropp. It's nice to meet you." She said, shaking hands.

"It's nice to meet you, Dr." Then, Elphaba turned to the child. Slowly, she knelt in front of her, and gave the girl a warm smile.

"Hi Glinda. I'm Dr. Thropp, but you can call me Elphaba."

"Hello." The child whispered, hugging a stuffed pink bunny to her chest. The animal was in a green dress, with pink lace.

"You're going to have surgery?" The girl nodded. "For... appendicitis?" Elphaba said, looking at the chart. The girl nodded again. "Well, come on, let's get you into surgery." She stood, holding out her hand for the girl, who took it. Then, she turned to the parents. "It'll be okay." They nodded, kissed their daughter goodbye, and left, to pick up the girl's older brother, who was at school. Once gone, Elphaba and Glinda headed down the hall.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two.**

**Rifiuto: Non Miriena**

**A/N: Shiz is the same as Compton.**

**A/N: Also, I've decided to include the part about Glinda in this chapter. I reread it, and I didn't like it at the end of the last chapter, so it's going to go at the beginning of this chapter, and then the rest of this will go into the reactions after.**

**A/N: _Angels of Fate_ is based on Linda Vista Community Hospital....**

**Linda Vista Hospital, originally known as Santa Fe Coast Lines Hospital, is a former hospital in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA.**

**"Hospitals are for the sick and the dieing. For many these places were the last stop on the way to the morgue. When you consider the rough East Los Angeles neighborhood surrounding the former Linda Vista Hosptial, it's no surprise it had a heavy death toll. This is a rougher part of town, I think we're pretty close to Compton. In the 1970s and 80s, gangs moved into the region, bringing in a steady stream of gunshot wounds, stabbings, beatings, and other sensless acts leaving thousands dead in the Linda Vista emergency room."**

**{Taken from _Ghost Adventures_- Linda Vista Hospital 1 of 4, on Youtube- very good, I suggest watching it if you're interested.}**

**Question: Is Glinda going to come back some how?**

**Answer: maybe**

**Thanks to My Blue Winged Angel, lizziemagic and Issa(dot)wicked17 for reviewing 1.**

Once they got to one of the rooms, Elphaba helped the girl change into a surgical gown, and helped her into bed, before injecting an IV. The child whimpered, but didn't flinch.

"Elphaba?" She asked. The woman stopped, and sat on the edge of the bed. "Is it scary?"

"Not at all. You'll just be asleep, you won't feel anything. You'll be in and out in a few hours."

"Promise?" Glinda asked, holding out her pinkie.

"I promise." Elphaba replied, linking their pinkies in a tight promise. Then, she stood, when Glinda held out her bunny.

"Elphaba? Will you hold Mr. Bunny for me?" The child looked so scared. She nodded, taking the animal.

"Of course. He'll be in the operating room with you, waiting for you when you get done."

Soon, they took the girl into surgery. Everything seemed to be going well, when her heartbeat began dropping. They tried everything, but nothing worked. The others looked at her. Elphaba sighed, taking a deep breath.

"Fine. I'll call it. Time.... of death.... 2:12 p.m."

They covered the child with the sheet, and silently, slipped out of the room. Elphaba was the last to leave. She turned to the washroom, where the bunny sat on the sink, waiting. Slowly, she slipped into the room, and, removing her mask and gloves, picked the bunny up.

Tears slid down her cheeks as she looked at the bunny.

_"You'll be in and out in a few hours." _

It was true. She would be. However, she wouldn't be walking out of the hospital, into her parents' waiting arms. Instead, she would be going out to her parents in a body bag, and all because of a simple- a_ simple_- procedure.

On impulse, Elphaba slammed her fist into one of the file cabinets multiple times, before she slid down to the floor. Her chest heaved with sobs, and she tangled her fingers in her hair, long raven strands falling out of her bun. After attempting to take several deep breaths, she again beat against the file cabinet, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Damn it! Damn it! _Damn it_!"

She buried her face in her hands, her knees to her chest.

_"God damn it to hell!"_

"Elphaba?"

Her head snapped up, and her dark eyes landed on a man standing in the doorway. His auburn hair tumbled into his sapphire eyes, and he watched her have her fit. Slowly, he came into the room, before going and kneeling in front of her.

"We have to go tell her parents." Elphaba sniffled.

"I... I know."

He watched her for several minutes, before reaching out to brush a flyaway strand of hair off her cheek, before letting his fingers trail down her cheek. Then, he gave her a sympathetic smile, and stood, going to the door.

"Come on."

She stayed seated. Fiyero turned, seeing her where he'd found her. After a moment, Elphaba climbed to her feet, oblivious to the pain in her wrist.

"Elphaba-"

"I promised her." She whispered, looking down at the bunny. She sniffled. "I promised her that.... that she would be in and out in no time. And she is." She sniffled again, and looked up at Fiyero. "I promised she'd be safe, and I broke it! I broke my promise!"

He went back to her.

"It's not your fault, Elphaba. It was an accident. These things happen."

She looked up at him.

"She was a _six-year-old little girl, Fiyero_! _And we killed her_!" She cried, turning and doing more severe damage to the file cabinet and her hand. Fiyero watched for a few moments, searching for the oppertunity to restrain her. It came when she hit the cabinet hard, before reaching up to grab her hair.

"Elphaba._ Elphaba_!" He grabbed her by the shoulders, and shook her roughly. _"It's not your fault! She had appendicitis!"_

_"That child never had a chance to live, Fiyero! We took it from her! We killed her!"_

He looked into her eyes, before pulling her close. Gently, he rubbed her back, whispering softly to her, before finally, pulling away.

"We have to let her parents know. Can you do that, Elphaba? Or do you want me to?"

"I can. I was the one that performed the surgery. I have too." Elphaba whispered, wiping her eyes. He squeezed her shoulder, and the two left. As Elphaba walked down the hall, the bunny was held tightly in her hands; as she approached, the little girl's parents climbed to their feet.

"How is she? Can we see her?" Mrs. Upland asked. But one look at Elphaba's face, made her blood run cold.

"I'm sorry, Mr. and Mrs. Upland. Glinda didn't make it." She whispered, holding out the bunny to the girl's mother. Slowly, the woman took it, looking at it, before holding it close and breaking down.

"What happened?" Mr. Upland asked. Elphaba closed her eyes, taking a deep breath, before answering.

"There was a complication during surgery. Her heart rate started dropping, and we tried. I'm sorry."

The father nodded, then gently shook her hand, before leading his wife and son out of the hospital. Elphaba watched them go, before turning to see Milla, Fiyero, and several other doctors and nurses watching. As she returned to the front desk, Milla gently squeezed her hand.

"You did the best your could, Elphie."

Elphaba nodded.

"I know." She whispered, wiping tears off her cheeks. Sniffling, she turned, and took the file handed to her. Glancing down at it, she muttered,

"But I still failed."

Then, she composed herself, and turned towards the waiting room. In a voice void of emotion, she called,

"Mr. Dillamond?"


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3.**

**Rifiuto: Non Miriena**

**A/N: Thanks to Fae D'Arc for the corrections, and sorry about that.... I've been in Yerington the past couple of days, because we had to put our older basset hound down yesterday, and so everything is slowly returning to normal- so I'm not exactly thinking clearly. Thanks again Fae.**

**Thanks to lizziemagic and Fae D'Arc for reviewing 2.**

Two days later, Elphaba looked up from the file she was reading, to see Fiyero come towards the desk. She gave him a small, warm smile, her heart doing a small flip at the rememberance of him holding her in the washroom after the child's death. Now, he leaned against the front desk, and let his head fall over his arms.

"Tired?" Milla asked, handing the secretary a slip of paper to add to a patient's file. No reply, before Fiyero nodded. Then, he raised his head, and looked at them.

"I just delivered a baby girl to _sixteen-year-old_."

_"What?"_

"You've got to be kidding."

He slowly shook his head as the girls' mouths dropped.

"Sixteen?" Another nod. "She's just a kid!"

"I know." He replied.

"We weren't doing that when we were kids. We were listening to the Tigers and going to integrated dances." Elphaba said. Fiyero chuckled softly.

"I know."

Twenty-nine-year-old Fiyero Tiggular was in line for the Vinkus throne, but had turned it down so he could get a degree in medicine and make a difference. Having gotten his M.D., he joined the Glinda Merta team in 1976, as the_ only_ doctor of Vinkun descent. His specialties were family and surgery, and he often found himself either in the ER or the maternity ward. With his piercing sapphire eyes, and thick, auburn hair, Fiyero turned more than a few heads; nurses, doctors, and patients alike.

More than once, his female patients had confessed to have a crush on him, which was normal, but never, _never_ had any of the nurses or female doctors said anything to him. Most of them thought he had a wife waiting for him back in the Vinkus; only Elphaba and Milla knew that he was wonderfully, deliciously, wickedly single. And while Milla found herself preoccupied with her latest fling- male or female- Elphaba, on the other hand, was open and free to snatch the handsome former-prince-turned-doctor Vinkun up, if she so chose.

Elphaba didn't. As she had told Milla repeatedly, she was married to her work, to the hospital and nothing more. Her work was her relationship, it was her lover, and no one was going to ruin it. Not even a former prince, no matter how handsome he was. She wouldn't break, she had a job to do, she wasn't the kind of person to get wrapped into a relationship, not when she had lives to save.

It was a slow day at Glinda Merta, something that was rare for the staff. Not to mention that it was noon.

As the staff headed down to the cafeteria for lunch, Fiyero fell in step with Milla and Elphaba. They spent the time in comfortable silence, until they got to the cafeteria, and when they sat down to eat, Fiyero regarded his words carefully before turning to the two women.

"How are you taking the Upland case, Elphaba?" The green-skinned woman looked at him, tossing her head, the raven strands that constituted as bangs flying up before coming to rest smoothly against her harelquin green forehead again. She wrinkled her nose, and tore off a corner of her sandwich.

"Better. I actually slept last night, instead of staying up until two trying to figure out what I did wrong." She said, eating the corner of her sandwich. The other two nodded. "I still don't like it. I caused another human being's death, I killed a little girl, even if I didn't mean to. It was a simple procedure. I've treated appedicitus multiple times, and I've never lost a patient. Something went wrong, and I don't know what."

"Slip of the hand, maybe? Were you nervous?" Fiyero asked. Elphaba shook her head. "Or maybe her appendix burst during surgery. That's been known to happen."

"No. I just.... I kept thinking about that promise I made to her before taking her into surgery. I pinkie promised and I failed. It's my fault she's dead."

"Oh come on, Elphaba. We're doctors. We hold people's fates in our hands. We decide who lives or dies." Milla said, taking a sip of her coffee. The other two stared at her from across the table. Fiyero didn't reply, but Elphaba shook her head.

"No we don't. God does. _God _decides who lives or dies, Milla. Not us. We're just the messengers." She replied, taking a sip of her coffee.

"I agree." Fiyero said, taking a bite of his salad as Elphaba returned to her sandwich. "When we decide to play God, things go wrong. We don't control who lives or dies. No one does."

Elphaba nodded, and took another bite of her sandwich. Just then, Oscar Diggs, the chief of staff, poked his head into the cafeteria, and, spotting his target, entered, stopping at their table.

"Dr. Thropp?" The doctor in question, looked up. "Can I talk to you?" After glancing quickly at Fiyero and Milla, she wiped her hands on her napkin, got up, tossed the remains of her lunch in the trash, and followed Diggs out of the cafeteria, glancing back at Fiyero and Milla, shrugging. Once they were in Diggs's office, he motioned for her to sit down, and then sat across frm her. Her watched the young woman for several minutes, before sighing.

"I wanted to talk to you."

"I gathered that." She said, arms folded across her chest.

"It's about Glinda Upland." He noticed that Elphaba lowered her arms, and looked down at her hands, before looking up at him.

"What...what about her?" She asked, her voice breaking.

"The child's family is suing Glinda Merta for malpractice." Diggs said. Elphaba's mouth fell open in shock.

_"What? Why?"_

"Because you cost them their daughter." After several minutes, Elphaba spoke.

"My God, it was a mistake! A simple mistake! Something went wrong!_ I didn't mean to kill her!_"

"They know that."

"Then why are they suing the hospital?"

"Because their child was in your care when she died." He sat back, lacing his fingers together. "Elphaba, Glinda Merta can't handle another lawsuit. We've already got several pending against us for malpractice, another one could close our doors forever. And if patients continue to die in your care, I will suspend you and have your liscense revoked for malpractice."

She just stared at him.

"If we get any more lawsuits resulting from fatalities, they'll close us down. We're going downhill with the suits we've gotten already, and I won't allow this hospital to go into the ground because my doctors are too lazy to do their job correctly."

She'd been keeping her temper in check. She'd done so good... and then... and now.... well, let's just say it was high time for Elphaba to explode, and explode she did.

_"Glinda Merta is going downhill anyway! Because you're running it into the ground!"_ Elphaba snapped, getting up and leaning close to him over the desk._ "You're fucking greed is what's sinking this hospital! The sooner we get rid of you, the better off we'll be!"_

He stood at that.

"How dare you! I'll have your liscense revoked!"

Elphaba backed away.

"Revoke my liscense then. I don't care. You're destroying this hospital, and you need to be stopped." Then, she turned, and left, returning to the cafeteria. Soon, Diggs, followed.

"How'd it go?" Milla asked.

"The Uplands are suing Glinda Merta for malpractice."

"What?" She didn't look at either Fiyero or Milla. Instead, she nodded.

"And he threatened to revoke my liscense."

Just as Fiyero went ot say something, Diggs, spoke up.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4.**

**Rifiuto: Non Miriena**

**Thanks to lizziemagic for reviewing 3.**

The cafeteria fell silent, as every eye- doctor, nurse, and desk clerk alike- turned to look at Diggs.

The man was in his late fifties, short, with white hair and hazel eyes, which were covered by glasses. Now, he surveyed his staff with a critical, judgemental eye, before landing on Elphaba.

"Now, as you all know, Glinda Merta has been at the heart of several lawsuits over the past year and a half, and those lawsuits have only piled up higher since then. Most recently, a lawsuit was brought against us by the parents of a six-year-old little girl. That young patient was brought in for appendicitis, and died due to a result of surgery. She died at two twelve Wensday afternoon, under the care of Dr. Elphaba Thropp."

At that, every head turned, shifting to look at the doctor in question. Nervous, Elphaba set her coffee cup down and averted her gaze, as several of the other doctors and nurses sitting with her slowly, quietly moved away from her. Only Fiyero and Milla stayed close, glaring at the others in the staff who saw fit to back away from her.

"I've recieved the coronor's report from the morgue down below, and he's determined that the child under Dr. Thropp's care died of cardiac arrest caused by distress due to a botched surgical procedure, resulting in malpractice." As Diggs read off the cause of death, Elphaba ducked her head farther, her arms coming up to cover her head as if to protect her from Diggs's words and the accusatory stares of her collegues. "Since this incident, it's come to my attention that Dr. Thropp may not be working at Glinda Merta for much longer. If she brings about the deaths of any more patients, her liscense will be revoked; this doesn't just go for Dr. Thropp, it goes for all of you. Have I made myself clear?"

The others nodded silent, Elphaba didn't move, to shaken from being singled out by Diggs to do so much as breathe.

Once he left, the cafeteria returned to before, only muffled. Several people reached out and rubbed her back as they passed, faintly, Elphaba smelled the scent of ShenShen's lavender hand lotion as she rubbed her back before going to get a cup of coffee.

Slowly, Elphaba raised her head, lowering her arms.

"You okay?" Milla was the first to speak. Elphaba swallowed, nodding.

"He had no right, to single you out like that. We've all lost patients at one point or another, not just you." Fiyero said venomously, rubbing her back, took a sip of her coffee.

"But never children." Elphaba whispered. Fiyero and Milla shared glances, before turning back to their friend.

"Actually...." Fiyero bit his lip breifly, before continuing in a soft whisper. "My first year here, I...I delivered a set of twins to a young woman and her husband, only one of the twins strangled on the umbilicol cord. We tried but there was nothing we could do. I've never forgiven myself."

"And... do you remember that burn victim that came in? The one that had gotten into that car crash, and survived, only to go back to her apartment and find her husband's mistress waiting with a book of matches and gasoline?" The other two nodded; _that_ night had been all_ too_ clear for all three; getting the call to come in at midnight, the young publisher being rushed into surgery with ninety percent of her body burned, discovering that her husband's mistress had attempted murder. The ten hours of surgery as they attempted to save her, and once she was stable and in a room recovering, coming back to check on her only to find her dead.

"Yeah, well.... I.....I went in to check on her an hour after she got out of surgery and...." Milla swallowed, closing her eyes before opening them again. "She was in so much pain. She begged for something to stop it, so I... I gave her some codeine to help relieve the pain, only I gave her too much.... I didn't realize until after we'd found her.... that I'd killed her."

"But it was an accident, Milla." Elphaba said, reaching out and taking her hand. "You didn't know you had given her an overdose. If you had, you would have stopped it. It wasn't your fault." She turned to Fiyero. "And it wasn't your fault the baby died. It had strangled on the umbilicol cord, you couldn't have known. It was an accident."

"So was that little girl's death, Elphaba." Fiyero said. She nodded, before getting up and tossing her lunch in the trash. Then, she left the cafeteria, the rest of the staff watching as she passed through the double doors, all wishing they could be the ones to wear the target on their backs.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5.**

**Rifiuto: Non Miriena**

**Thanks to lizziemagic for reviewing 4.**

The door to the locker room banged open, but she didn't look up.

"Elphaba?"

Silence.

Sighing, Milla went to her friend, sitting next to her on the bench.

"You okay?"

Her friend drew a shaky breath, and spoke.

"....I k... killed that little girl, Milla. And now her parents are bringing a lawsuit against Glinda Merta.... and it's all my fault." She choked out, finally looking at her friend. She choked out another sob, and reached up to wipe a tear off her cheek, as Milla reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind her friend's ear.

"It wasn't your fault, Elphaba." Milla whispered, as Elphaba buried her face in her friend's shoulder, before slowly wrapping her arms around her neck. Milla held her close, rubbing her back and whispering softly. "Hush Elphaba. You'll make yourself sick."

Neither woman heard the door open, and Milla only looked up when Fiyero sat on Elphaba's other side, and laid his hand on her shoulder. They shared a worried look, before he softly stroked her hair. They sat together, calming Elphaba with soft words and gentle whispers, as a storm began to rage outside.....

When they're shifts finally ended, the three gathered up their things, and left.

"You sure you don't want to come, Fabala?" Elphaba shook her head.

"Thanks for the offer, Milla, but I'll pass." The green woman replied, as the three headed to the parking lot.

"You sure?" Elphaba nodded.

"Come on, Elphie. An hour. That's all."

"Well...." The green woman bit her lip.

"If it would make things easier, Elphaba, how about I take you home in an hour?" Fiyero offered. She met his eyes. After a moment, she nodded.

"All right."

Thirty minutes later, the three were relaxing at a table in The Philosophy Club. It was a bar that played everything from Jazz to Rock, and was a popular spot for the doctors of Glinda Merta to go after a day at work to unwind. As the three sat talking, a song came on and Fiyero glanced at Elphaba, before leaning close.

"Care to dance?" She took a drink, and looked at him.

"What?"

"Do you want to dance?" She glanced at Milla, before taking Fiyero's hand and letting him lead her onto the dance floor. The song was slow, romantic, and slowly, Elphaba rested her head against his shoulder. After a while, Elphaba spoke up.

"I didn't mean to. It was an accident. I didn't mean to-"

"Shh. Shh. I know. Let it go, Elphaba." Gently, he rubbed her back.

Two hours later, the three headed home, each waving goodbye at their respective homes. Once they got to Elphaba's front door, she turned to him.

"Thank you, Yero." He nodded.

"You're.... wel... come...." He couldn't stop himself. Slowly, they leaned close, their lips meeting in a gentle, loving kiss. She gently pulled away, met his eyes, and kissed him gently again, before unbuckling her seatbelt.

"Goodnight."

He smiled at her softly.

"Goodnight."


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6.**

**Rifiuto: Non Miriena**

"Dr. Thropp?" Elphaba looked up to see Dr. Avaric Tenmeadows at the front desk. Avaric worked mainly in the Mental Hospital, but occasionally worked in the main hospital. He specified in mental illness and disability, working with the sickest-and sometimes most dangerous- patients in the hospital. Occasionally, he would ask one of the other doctors to come to the mental hospital to help with the patients.

"What is it?"

Avaric sighed.

"You're requested at the mental ward." She drew a deep breath, and set her files down.

"Which room, Dr. Tenmeadows?" She asked, following. Several of the staff watched the two disappear down a hallway. Soon, they hurried through a door, and thru a secret tunnel to get to the mental hospital, a building connected to Glinda Merta by way of underground tunnel.

"Two rooms, actually, Dr. Thropp." He replied, as they made their way from the tunnel into the mental hospital. He led her upstairs to the third floor. "Room 323 and Room 316." She sighed. Finally, they stopped at Room 316. Slowly, as if doubting his decision, Avaric opened the door to 316, and entered, Elphaba following.

"Sarima? Sarima, Dr. Thropp is here to see you."

Elphaba looked around, seeing the bed and mattress in the far corner, the dresser and curtains. She turned full circle, before stopping to listen closely. Listening intently, she followed the humming, before going to the closet, and gently pulling it open. Her heart pounded in her ears, and she screamed, jumping before calming down.

"Oh Oz!" Grabbing the stitch in her chest, she looked down at the floor, to see the young, ten-year-old little girl curled up on the closet floor. "Sarima, what are you doing? Are you hiding? Are we scaring you?""

The little girl looked up, hands over her ears. Instead of replying, she continued to hum loudly, sickly. Sighing, Elphaba knelt down and reached out to touch the girl's forehead. Scared, ShenShen backed away.

"Stop it."

"I'm sorry, Sarima."

"Stop it."

"We didn't mean to scare you."

"Stop it."

Elphaba sighed. "Come on. Up and at 'em." When the girl didn't move, Elphaba turned to Avaric. "Avaric, help me." Quickly, the two managed to get the child up and to the bed, where they promptly strapped her to the bed. "Now, what's wrong?"

"She needs to be sedated, she's been acting up, and we need to calm her. Once you sedate her, I can check her vitals and pulse." Elphaba nodded. "And then we need to go to 323." Elphaba nodded.

"Three twenty-three. I should have known. All right. Now that she's strapped down, can you sedate her while I go check on Manek?" Avaric looked up to say something, but Elphaba was already out the door and on her way to Room 323. Briskly, she knocked on the door. "Manek?" Slowly, she pushed the door opened, and looked around, her eyes finally landing on the young man sitting on the bed, his back to her. She slipped inside and went to him. "Manek? What seems to be the problem today?"

Cositively, he turned, eyes landing on Elphaba.

"Mama?"

"No Manek, it's me, Dr. Thropp. Are you okay?" She went around the bed, kneeling in front of him. He shook his head. Elphaba knew not to get too close, Manek was dangerous, exceedingly dangerous. He looked up at her.

"Ready or not.... here I come." Her eyebrows knit in confusion.

"I don't understand...."

Everything happened so fast. One minute she was talking to Manek, and the next he was on top of her, beating her. She screamed in surprise, as he slammed her head on the hard floor. Spots appeared in front of her eyes, and quickly, she shoved him off, before climbing to her feet and rushing to the door.

"Avaric!" She let out a cry as Manek grabbed her ponytail. She let out another screamed, as the door burst open, and Avaric and two other doctors rushed into the room. After a struggle lasting several minutes, they finally managed to restrain Manek to the bed, and get Elphaba out of the room. Quickly, Avaric took her back to the main hospital, where he, Milla, and Fiyero worked to clean her up.

"What happened?" Milla asked, as she gently placed ice to the bump on Elphaba's head.

"Manek attacked me." She whispered. Avaric sighed.

"I should have made you stay with Sarima. I should have gone to Manek." Gently, Elphaba took Avaric's hand.

"It wasn't your fault." He sighed.

"You could have been hurt worse than you were." She squeezed his hand.

"But I wasn't."


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7.**

**Rifiuto: Non Miriena**

**Thanks to lizziemagic for reviewing 6.**

"It was Room 323?" Elphaba nodded, as she and Milla got lunch before joining Fiyero.

"I should have known."

"It wasn't your fault, Elphie. If it was anyone's fault, it was Avaric's." Fiyero replied, smacking Avaric hard on the back of the head as he sat down next to him.

"Ow! Hey, I said I was sorry! What more do you want from me?" Avaric asked.

"Yero, be nice." Elphaba whispered, taking a bite of her sandwich. He did as told, glaring at Avaric before returning to his lunch. "It wasn't Avaric's fault, I shouldn't have gone by myself." They continued to chat softly, when the door opened and Dr. Trism von Cavlish entered.

Dr. Cavlish was a surgeon that thought he ran the hospital. He expected the rest of the staff to bow down to him, and often threatened to destroy the careers of several doctors and nurses if he didn't get his way. He also had a facination with Elphaba that bordered on obsessive. Both Milla and Fiyero knew it, and while Elphaba denied it, the other two kept a close on him- especially when he was around their friend.

"Afternoon, Dr. Thropp. It's good to see you again." Slowly, Elphaba turned to look at Trism, and quickly smiled at him before turning back to lunch.

"What do you want, Dr. Cavlish?" Fiyero asked, mood darkening as he watched Trism lay his hand on Elphaba's shoulder.

"I just wanted to say hello, Dr. Tiggular." Then he turned back to Elphaba. "So, how are you doing this afternoon, Dr. Thropp?" Elphaba shrugged.

"Fine."

"I heard about the mishap in the mental ward." He leaned close to whisper in her ear, "If you want, I can make sure Dr. Tenmeadows has his license revoked." She pulled away and looked at him.

"No thanks." Then, she turned back to her lunch, but having lost her appetite, she got up and threw it away before returning to the table. "Look guys, I've-" Before she could finish, shouting came from the front of the building, and everyone in the cafeteria rushed out to see what was happening. Paramedics rushed towards them, a gurney between them. Instantly, everyone rushed into action, some helping the paramedics, some getting information.

"What's going on? What happened?" Elphaba asked, looking at one of the paramedics. "Shell, what happened?" The young man looked up, locking eyes with Elphaba. He licked his lips before responding.

"Twelve-year-old little girl. Car crash. Out on Highway 628." She nodded, and reached to grab the girl's hand.

"Honey, can you hear me? Sweetie, my name's Doctor Thropp, do you know where you are?"

"Owie. My neck hurts."

"I know it does, honey. We're going to get you into surgery, all right?"

"I want my Daddy."

"I promise, sweetie, once we get you fixed up, we'll find your Daddy. I promise." Then, she turned to Fiyero. "Yero, take her into the surgical suite, Room 4 should be open. Hurry, we're losing her fast." He nodded and led the paramedics down the hall.

"Fabala?" Slowly, Elphaba turned, to see the same paramedic standing behind her. He went to her, wrapping her in a hug. "How have you been, Fabala?"

"As good as I can get. You, Shell?" He shrugged and pulled away.

Shell Thropp was Elphaba's baby brother; only four years seperated the siblings. Not long after Elphaba graduated and went off to college, Shell decided that he wanted to become a paramedic, in the hopes that he'd get to work with his sister someday. Shell interned at Glinda Merta not long after Elphaba joined the staff, and later became a paramedic. Even though four years seperated the siblings, they could have passed for fraternal twins, with the same black hair and dark eyes. Except Elphaba was green, and Shell was snow white. Not that it mattered, they loved each other dearly, and looked out for one another.

"I'm okay." She nodded, and brushed her bangs out of her face.

"What happened?"

He watched several other gurneys rush by.

"Well, from what we gather, a car crossed the median and slammed into a car in the opposite lane. The tragic thing-"

"What is it, Shell?"

He met her eyes. "That little girl..." Elphaba nodded. "She and her parents were hit by their own daughter."

Her eyes widened. _"What?"_

"The older daughter- the sixteen-year-old on the gurney that just passed- was out with friends and they were drunk. We found several beer cans in the car. They crossed the median and hit the car carrying her parents and sister. Apparently, the parents went out to get a pizza, and was struck by the other car. Both parents were killed on impact, and the drunk driver in the other car managed to get out without a scratch. Which is typical. But it looks like he's going to be facing involuntary manslaughter."

"They should bump it up to murder one- murder two at least."

"All six of those kids should face murder. Every single one- but first we have to see if they'll survive to see trial."

"Dr. Thropp?" Both siblings turned, to see Trism coming towards them.

"Yes, what is it, Dr. Cavlish?" He glanced at Shell before turning back to Elphaba.

"We have _seven_ crash victims in surgery, and we need you to help. Get your ass in that surgical suite now!"

Quickly, Elphaba glanced at her brother, before doing as told and disappearing down the hallway.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8.**

**Rifiuto: Non Miriena**

**A/N: F****rom _Ghost Adventures_- Linda Vista Hospital 1 of 4, on Youtube (about a chair that moves on its own):**

**"We were wandering around and this chair was not here- not here. We come out of the surgical suite, there it is. Just sittin' there in the middle of the hallway. This chair has a bit of a history of moving around but we don't know why."**

**And (the second floor hallway of Linda Vista):**

**"This floor is interesting because not only myself but several people every time we come here continuously see somebody standing or leaning out one of these doors as they're headed for the exit."**

**Thanks to Poet Screaming for reviewing 3 and 7 and to lizziemagic for reviewing 7.**

Eight hours later, the doctors and nurses of Glinda Merta slipped silently into the cafeteria. All were exhausted, all tried to forget what they had just witnessed, but it would be engraved in their minds for years to come.

"I don't think that little girl is going to make it." Elphaba shook her head as she poured a cup of coffee.

"I've never been in surgery that long. If we were in there any longer, I think I would have gone insane." Fiyero muttered, sipping his coffee. Elphaba nodded in agreement.

"That's it, from now on, I'm staying in the Mental Hospital. You can all have the main hospital, I don't care. I'm done. I'm sticking to my ward, and you all stick to yours." Avaric said, taking a seat at a table as the others joined him. They talked softly, mainly about the last eight hours, and after several minutes, they reluctantly returned to the main lobby. Once there, Elphaba slipped behind the reception desk.

"Tough day, Dr. Thropp?" Elphaba took a seat in the empty desk chair near the back, and leaned back, tilting her head back.

"What do you think, Nor?" The secretary turned to look at the young woman. She eyed her for a moment, before asking,

"Any of those kids going to survive?" After swallowing, Elphaba shook her head.

"It doesn't look like it. If they do, it'll be a miracle." After several moments, Elphaba climbed out from behind the desk, taking the chair with her. Once in the main part of the lobby, she plunked the chair down and the settled herself into it.

"Fabala, what are you doing?" Taking a seat, Elphaba turned to look at her friends.

"What do you mean?" Milla shrugged.

"What are you doing with the chair?"

"I don't know." She replied, moving halfway down the first floor west hallway before turning back. Then, she came back to them, before spotting a nurse coming towards them. "Yes, what is it?" The woman bit her lip.

"The- the-"

Before the girl could speak, an alarm began blaring. "It's coming from the surgical suite!" All there rushed towards the suite, before seperating to the different rooms. Elphaba pushed through the nurses and checked the girl's vitals.

"We need a defibrulator in here, now!"

Try as they might, they called time of death five times before finally leaving the surgical suite.

"I hate calling time of death. I hate it even more than telling family that their loved ones have passed away." Everyone seemed to relax for several minutes, before the paramedics again rushed in, a gurney between them. "What is it? What's wrong?" One of the other paramedics locked eyes with Elphaba.

"Fifty-year-old man, insulin overdose."

She nodded, before looking down at the man and really seeing him.

"Fabala." She turned, to see Shell. He hurried to her.

"What is it, Shell?"

"It's Dad."

"What?"

"The man is..."

"Dad?"

He nodded. Slowly, she turned back to the man, before reaching down and taking his hand.

"It'll be okay, Dad. I promise, it'll be okay."

He just squeezed her hand in response.

"F... Fabala..."

"Shh... Shh, Dad, shh. It'll be okay." She moved the gurney slowly, careful to avoid other patients and staff.

"Fabala, if we don't get an IV in him now, he'll slip into a coma." Elphaba met her brother's eyes before turning to Milla.

"Mill, get him into one of the rooms. Get an IV in him, and let me know when he's settled. Okay?" Her friend nodded. Once they were gone, she turned back to her brother.

"Shell... he won't..." He went to her, wrapping her in his arms.

"I don't know, Fabala. I don't know."

Eventually, both Elphaba and Shell were called to the second floor, where their father was.

"Dad? Are you okay?" Slowly, Elphaba went to her father and took his hand. He slowly turned to look at her, his breathing now even.

"What happened, Dad?" Shell asked, stopping on the other side of the bed.

"I... I don't..."

"You're blood sugar dropped dangerously low. You just about slipped into a diabetic coma. We almost lost you." Elphaba whispered, reaching out to stroke his cheek. "Who called-"

"Mom." She looked up, meeting Shell's eyes. As if on cue, a woman with long black hair and blue eyes entered the room, out of breath and upset.

"Frex! Oh Oz. I'm so sorry I didn't get here sooner, honey, traffic was unbearable." She rushed to him, leaning down and cupping his cheek.

"Mom?" Quickly, the woman looked up, to see her two surviving children. After a moment, she wrapped them both in a hug.

"Oh my darlings."

"It's okay, Mom. It'll be okay."

"Elphaba?" They turned, to see Fiyero stick his head in.

"What is it?"

He sighed. "A woman just came in with no idea who she is. We need to examine her and put her in a room before we search for her family."

"A Jane Doe?" He nodded. "I'll see you soon, Mom. Okay?" She nodded, before allowing Elphaba to leave.

As she and Fiyero headed down the hall towards the second floor exit, a couple doors opened, and patients poked their heads out, watching them leave.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9.**

**Rifiuto: Non Miriena**

**A/N: I know, Frex being nice must be a shock...**

**A/N: F****rom _Ghost Adventures_- Linda Vista Hospital 1 of 4, on Youtube (about the incinerary):**

**"This is the incinerary where the- that's what I mean, the final- the end of all end, your body's now destroyed. Ashes. That's where the ashes go. That's where the ashes would come out. Why is there still ash in here? To me, it does look like there may be some reminants of bone chips or something. I'm not sure but I mean there are white pieces in there. Did I just put my hand in human ash? Look at the white fragments in there too. That looks like a f***ing tooth or like a bone fragment. They still have human ash in here! A lot of times people will come in, be Jane Does. What do you do with Jane Does or John Does? You burn them and forget about their dust. That's improper. There's a reason why this hospital came to an end so fast. This might be somebody's final resting place, right here."**

**Thanks to lizziemagic for reviewing 8.**

"Take her to the incinerary."

"Wait! Wait, you can't take her- we... we need to put her in a room-" Trism turned as Elphaba and Fiyero rushed down the hall towards them.

"We have to-"

"You can't, we-"

"Dr. Thropp!" She looked up when Trism grabbed her arm. "She's dead."

"But... but maybe we can find her family..."

"No one's come to claim her-"

"Well, we need to give them at least forty-eight hours!" He shook her hard.

_"Dr. Thropp, there's nothing we can do!"_

Then he released her and went to the nurses. Fiyero and Elphaba watched as they disappeared down to the incinerary. Once they were gone, Elphaba turned to Fiyero.

"Not another one." He nodded in agreement.

"I think he killed her."

"What?" Fiyero met her eyes, calm.

"I think. Trism. Killed her."

"Not possible-"

"When I left to get you, she was alive. When we got here, she was dead."

"She could have died-" He shook his head.

"No."

"But-"

"Elphaba, when I left to get you, she was as alive as you or I. When we got here, she was dead. I think he killed her."

She let out a laugh, before going to the reception desk and picking up several files that were waiting for them.

"Oh Yero, I know you have an overactive imagination, but this is ridiculous." Before he could say anything, Milla joined them.

"I hate stitches."

"What happened?" Milla brushed her hair out of her face and leaned against the desk.

"A twelve-year-old came in with a knife sticking through his hand-"

"Like an actual knife or-" She nodded.

"An actual knife." The other two shared a surprised look. "It took me ten minutes to remove it, and required eighteen stitches."

"Is he-"

"He's okay, he's just not going to be able to use his hand for three weeks."

"Yikes." Milla nodded.

"So, what happened while I was away?"

"Fiyero thinks Trism killed a Jane Doe that came in."

Milla's head snapped up.

_"What?"_

"I know. That's what I said."

"Why would you think that?" Milla asked, turning to Fiyero. He sighed.

"Because, when I went to get Elphaba, she was alive, and by the time we returned, she was dead and Trism was taking her down to the incinerary." She shook her head.

"That's not right."

Later, when everyone's shifts had ended, Elphaba went to check on her father.

"Dad?" Melena looked up, to see Elphaba slip into the room. "Hey, you all right?" He nodded. "I'm going to head home, but I will be on call if you need me. Okay? You're going to stay here for at least anther night, until we're certain that you're insulin levels are going to remain stable, all right?" Frex nodded, slowly taking his daughter's hand. Then, she leaned over and placed a gentle kiss on his forehead. "I'll be on call all night in case you need me. Okay? Good." He wrapped her mother in a hug and pulled her coat on, just as Fiyero poked his head in.

"Fabala?" She turned. "Ready?" She nodded. "I'll take you home."

With one last goodbye to her parents, she followed Fiyero out to the parking lot. Several of the doctors and nurses had decided to car poole to save on gas and time. Most nights, Fiyero dropped Elphaba off before heading home, or Elphaba took Fiyero home after a shift, but either way, they spent most nights on a tension-filled trip. They drove in silence, focused only on themselves, until Fiyero pulled up to Elphaba's drive.

She lived in a fairly decent neighborhood, far from the problems that plagued Shiz. It was a very nice townhouse, that she'd rented since college, and had no desire to leave for anything. After years of making a living, the house was finally a home for her. Although Elphaba did say that she was pretty sure the house was semi-haunted by the ghost of a little girl that liked to play tricks.

"Thanks." He nodded, meeting her eyes.

"Sure thing."

She smiled at him, before opening the door and starting to climb out.

"Elphaba-" She turned back when he grabbed her arm.

"What is it, Yero?" Then, without warning, he leaned close and captured her lips in a sweet, gentle kiss.

"Goodnight." She smiled at him before nodded.

"'Night." Then, she got out, grabbed her keys, and hurried to the door, slipping inside with a wave. Once he was sure she was okay, he left, the feel of Elphaba's lips still on his.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10.**

**Rifiuto: Non Miriena**

**Question: INCINERARY? Hospitals HAVE those? And they can legaly burn bodies right and left?**

**Answer: I believe hospitals used to have incineraries. I'm not sure if they do now, but back in the early- late 20th century, they were allowed to.**

**Thanks to lizziemagic for reviewing 9.**

Once Elphaba slipped inside, she tossed her keys on the table near the door, and removed her coat, before going into the kitchen. She hit the play button on the answering machine as she passed, and listened to the messages as she made a cup of tea.

_"Hey Elphaba, it's me. I just wanted to let you know that I stopped by to see Dad before I went home, and he's doing better. Um... that's about it... Candle sends her love and so do the kids. Hope to see you this Lurlinemas. Love you, Fabala."_

"Love you too, Shell." She whispered, pouring the tea and adding sugar as the message changed.

_"Hey Elphaba, just wanted to make sure you got home all right. Fiyero said something about taking you home. Anyway, I'll see you tomorrow, have a good night."_

"You too, Mil." She let the message change, as she sipped her tea.

_"Hey Elphaba. I told you I'd let you know when I got home, and I'm okay. Anyway, I'll talk to you soon."_

"Good to know, Yero." As she went into the living room, one more message clicked onto the answering machine.

_"Fabala..." _She stopped, turning slowly, eyes trained on the machine. _"Fabala... it's me... it's Nessie..." _The cup dropped from her hand, shattering on the floor. _"I'm scared, Fabala... It's scary here..."_ Heart racing, she dropped to the floor, shaking. _"Fabala, I don't like it here... Glinda Merta's scaring me..." _The message clicked off, and Elphaba, refusing to move, stared at the phone, trying to get her heart to stop racing. Once her heart slowed down, she climbed to her feet, and rushed to the desk, grabbing her laptop. She curled up on the sofa, turned the tv on loud, and began looking up Glinda Merta's history...

The next morning, Elphaba entered the main lobby, to see Fiyero and Milla talking with Nor.

"Morning." All three looked up.

"What happened to you?" Fiyero asked.

"Fabala, are you okay? You look horrible."

"Thanks Milla. And I couldn't sleep. I think I got an hour's sleep at most." She replied, leaning against the desk.

"What were you doing?" Milla asked.

"Nothing like that, Mil. My sister called and left a message on my answering machine last night."

The other two shared a surprised glance. "What?" She nodded.

"Wait a minute, _your sister_." Another nod. "Your _dead sister_." Again another nod. "Nessarose."

"Yeah, Nessarose."

"But... she's been dead for sixteen years."

"I know, Yero."

"Well, it sounds to me like you've got yourself a ghost, Dr. Thropp." Nor said. Elphaba sighed.

"But... the wierd thing is... she..." And she pulled out the tape recorder she'd recorded the message on. Then, she hit _Play_, and let the other three listen to the message.

_"Fabala... __Fabala... it's me... it's Nessie... __I'm scared, Fabala... It's scary here... __Fabala, I don't like it here... Glinda Merta's scaring me..." _

Milla shivered. "That's creepy."

"Wait a minute, it can't possibly be your sister. Your sister died sixteen years ago from polio-"

"Here at Glinda Merta." Elphaba said, cutting Fiyero off.

"Wait, hold on, how do you know it was Glinda Merta?" Milla asked. Elphaba locked eyes with her.

"Because Nessa was born here. She was born here and she died here. Shell was born here._ I_ was born here. I was practically raised here- I spent _more time _in these surgical suites and emergency rooms _than out_. I broke _more bones _than most of my friends combined." She looked around slowly. "This place used to scare the hell out of me when I was a kid. Whenever I had to stay here, I was afraid to go to sleep for fear I wouldn't wake up. I must have been a nut to want to work here."

"I don't know what to tell you, Fabala. It sounds like Nessa... at least I'm assuming since I've never heard her speak..."

"It's her, Milla. That's her voice."

"What room?" She turned to Nor.

"Huh?"

"What room did she die in, Dr. Thropp?" Elphaba sighed.

"Room Two. The surgical suite. It was... the same room that... that little girl was in before she died..."

"The Upland girl?" Fiyero asked. Elphaba nodded.

"Yeah. That was my sister's room." She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "And mine... when I'd stay here for surgery... Room Two was my room also... and Shell's. We all stayed in that room."

"So this hospital has basically been in your family for years." Fiyero said, summing it up. Elphaba nodded.

"My mom was a nurse. She interned here in college... Dad was a patient, that Mom was working with... and the rest is history."

"So... this hospital is kind of like a family affair for you." He said, as Elphaba nodded again, licking her lips.

"Yeah. It's a family affair."

After a moment, Elphaba returned her attention to the tape recorder that held her sister's voice. After a moment, she hit _Play_ again.

_"Fabala... __Fabala... it's me... it's Nessie... __I'm scared, Fabala... It's scary here... F__abala, I don't like it here... Glinda Merta's scaring me..."_


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11.**

**Rifiuto: Non Miriena**

**A/N: I know the last chapter was creepy, but there's a reason why I put that chapter in...**

**A/N: F****rom _Ghost Adventures_- Linda Vista Hospital 1 of 4, on Youtube (about old abandoned patient records):**

**"Old patient records, they just lo- they're just lying around all over the hospital."**

**And on the Surgical Suite:**

**"This is the most frightening part of the hospital. Basically, we walked in through this doorway, we walked through here- we were just commenting on how dismal this room is. We started hearing this humming; and it was very loud, it was completely audible, it was very real, it felt like it was right with us, and it sounded like a little girl's voice. I barely touch this door, it goes flying open; it opened really hard and fast and bounced back, and there's something standing right here, something black, shadowy and it moves backward through us and at that point, we're screaming. Something wanted to connect with us, very badly, and wanted to know that- wanted us to know that it was here. And I think it was a child, and I'm assuming that it might have had something to do with this surgery suite. She may have died here, she never left. It didn't feel evil, it felt like, don't leave."**

**Thanks to Issa(dot)wicked17 and lizziemagic for reviewing 10.**

She sat in the locker room, straddling the bench, turning the small, rectangular tape recorder over and over again between her fingers. Chin balanced in her other hand, she watched the small box dance between her fingers. Then, she pressed Play, and listened as Nessa's voice came into the room.

_"Fabala... __Fabala... it's me... it's Nessie..."_

She sighed, turning it off again, before setting it down and laying back. Staring at the ceiling, she soon found herself drifting off to sleep.

_"Fabala... Fabala..."_

_Her eyes opened, and she looked up, to see Nessa looking down at her. A look of confusion flashed across her face, and she blinked several times, but the image didn't fade. Slowly, she pushed herself up to her elbows, and Nessa backed up. "N..." She swallowed the bile making its way up her esophegas. "Nessie?" The girl nodded, before holding out her hand. _

_"Come on, Fabala."_

_As Elphaba sat up, she couldn't help looking at her sister's legs. The girl was in braces, two crutch-like canes helping her balance her weight. After several moments, Elphaba locked eyes with her sister. _

_"Bu... but Nessie... you..."_

_"Fabala..." Glancing at her hand, she reached out and took it, standing and allowing Nessa to lead her out of the locker room. _

_As they made it upstairs, Elphaba noted how quiet it was. The halls were silent, no voices, no rolling gurneys, no beeping machines, nothing. Doors were either open, closed, or ajar, beds were vacant, some stripped, others covered; chairs sat overturned and patient records sat scattered everywhere. As she made it to the reception desk, she saw Nor's chair- the same chair she'd been rolling around in days earlier- sitting at the far end of the hallway. She glanced back at the desk before turning at the sound of wheels, and her eyes widened to see the chair sitting a mere foot from her. _

_"N... Ness...Nessa, did... did that chair... just..." Nessa looked back at it, before looking at her sister. _

_"It always does that."_

_But Elphaba didn't get to respond, because Nessa was pulling her through the hospital to the surgical suites. She stopped, digging her feet in._

_"No Nessa... I... I can't..." _

_"Come on, Fabala." _

_Eventually, Nessa was able to pull her through the double doors, and towards Surgical Suite, Room Two. _

_"Nessa..." _

_But Nessa wouldn't listen, and pulled her through- literally through- the door and into the room. They were in the surgical suite Elphaba had been in as a child, the suite Nessa had died in... _

_"Hhmmhmm.."_

_Quickly, Elphaba turned, searching behind her for the source of the noise. But seeing nothing, she turned back, and went to the door, reaching up to touch it, when it banged open hard and bounced back, the humming now completely audible and loud. It seemed almost like... it was... a child..._

_"Hhmmhmm.."_

_She jumped, before looking into the room; her eyes widened at what she saw. A black shape, almost in the outline of a girl, stood before her, and slowly, moved towards her, suddenly going through her. She started, screamed, and stumbled back. _

_"Wh... what was that?" She screamed. _

_"Remember that girl?"_

_"What girl?" Elphaba asked, staring at her sister. _

_"That girl that died."_

_It took a few moments, but eventually, Elphaba understood. _

_"The Upland girl?" Elphaba asked, breathless. Nessa nodded. _

_"This was her surgery suite, right? Like it was yours and mine?" Elphaba nodded. "Makes sense that she'd be here. Like I am." _

_"What do you mean, 'like I am,' Nessa?" Nessa looked back at her. _

_"Once we die, we don't leave." _

_"I..."_

_"Come on. We need to continue." She took Elphaba's hand again led her back into the hall. They stood near the reception desk, when Elphaba turned, hearing the sound of gurneys making their way towards them._

_"Nessa..."_

_"They make that sound all the time." Nessa replied. _

_"Gurneys?" _

_"Yeah." _

_Just as Elphaba turned back to the hall, she heard a voice, that sounded like Tersan's from the day before, and his words came rushing back. _

_"There's nothing we can do!"_

_She shivered, catching a flash of white rushing down the hall- unidentifiable, but it reminded Elphaba of the nurses rushing down the hall towards the paramedics on a daily basis. She didn't realize that Nessa was pulling her back towards the surgical suites. As they made their way down the hall, she heard a scream- almost of pain- come from down the west hallway. Once they made it back to the surgical suite, Elphaba found that there was an operating table with someone lying on it. _

_"Nessa..." She asked, too curious to stay by her sister's side. "Who... who is that..."_

_Nessa didn't respond. _

_"Nessie? Who is that?" _

_Nessa still didn't respond, and Elphaba didn't get to see who was lying on the table, because something stopped her. _

_Someone stood in front of her, dressed in a hospital gown, long hair falling over her chest, and after several minutes, she raised her head..._

_Elphaba stumbled back, horror passing over her face, as she let out a blood-curling scream. _

_"NO!"_

Her eyes snapped open and she sat up quickly looking around for any sign of her sister. Shaking, she climbed to her feet, picked up the tape recorder, and after looking at it for several minutes, pressed the button.

_"...Fabala... It's scary here..."_

After a moment, she went to the trash and tossed it in, before leaving the locker room. As the door closed behind her, she didn't realize that the recording was rewinding and replaying continuously.

_"Fabala... __Fabala... it's me... it's Nessie... __I'm scared, Fabala... It's scary here... F__abala, I don't like it here... Glinda Merta's scaring me..."_


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12.**

**Rifiuto: Non Miriena**

**Question: What did she see?**

**Answer: I'm not saying**

**Thanks to lizziemagic and Issa(dot)wicked17 for reviewing 11.**

"Hey." She jumped, turning to see Milla next to her. "Whoa, what's wrong with you?" Elphaba sighed, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"Sorry, I just... took a nap in the locker room... I don't think I'm completely awake yet."

Milla nodded, glancing at her friend.

"What'd you do with the tape recorder?"

"What?"

"The tape recorder?"

"Oh, I... I tossed it." She said, going to the desk and picking up a nearby file.

"Wait a minute, like tossed it in the trash tossed it, or tossed it like you tossed a salad but it ended up on the floor tossed it?" Milla asked, joining Elphaba. The green woman looked at her.

"I tossed it in the trash."

"Oh."

She yawned, looked around and saw that the hospital was nearly deserted.

"What time is it?"

"Um..." Milla glanced at the clock over the reception's desk. "eight-twenty. Why?"

"I must have slept longer than I thought." Milla shrugged.

"Must have."

She jumped, when Fiyero put his hand on her shoulder.

"Calm down, it's just me."

"You scared me."

"Sorry." After several moments, he said, "Come on. I'll take you home." She didn't protest, and after they got their things, they said goodbye to Milla and the others and left. They rode in silence, but when Fiyero pulled up to her place, she grabbed his arm.

"Stay with me."

He didn't say anything, just got out and followed her to the door. Once the door closed behind them, she took their coats and tossed them on the sofa.

"Do you want coffee?"

"Sure, sounds good." He followed her through the living room into the kitchen. She yawned as she fixed the coffee, and after several moments, handed him his. They stood in her kitchen for several minutes, sipping their coffee, before he said, "You all right? You seemed kind of freaked when I touched your shoulder today."

She sighed.

"I... I had a nightmare."

"About what?"

"You're going to think I'm insane."

He chuckled softly. "I already do."

She rolled her eyes before saying, "I dreamt about Nessa."

"Your sister?" She nodded. "Why did you dream about her? What was the dream about?"

She bit her lower lip, taking a seat at her kitchen table, waiting until he'd sat down across from her to speak. Wrapping her hands around the mug, she stared into the black liquid before saying,

"I... I dreamt that... that Nessa... that I... that we were... ghosts... and... and that the... the hospital was abandoned."

He furrowed a brow and watched her.

"Abandoned how?"

She glanced into her coffee, taking a breath before saying, "I... I mean... no one was there. It was... completely abandoned. It was... run down and... it looked like it'd been attacked and... broken glass and dirt and grime and... patient records were everywhere... just laying around... old mattresses and gurneys were left everywhere... like... like we'd all abandoned it... like the hospital wasn't good enough for us and we all just dropped everything and left..."

He listened as she explained her dream, before asking, "What happened after?"

"What do you mean?"

"What happened after you wandered the hospital?"

"N... Nessa took me into the surgical suite. Into Room Two. And..." She swallowed, looking at the table before looking back at him. "And there... there was... a... a table... with... with someone on it... and I look up... and there's... someone standing in front of me..." She bit her lip, blinking back tears. Silent, he reached out and covered her hand with his. Then, he got up, and took a seat next to her.

"What did they look like? The person?"

She met his eyes, as tears began sliding down her cheeks. She shook her head.

"I can't. I can't."

"Shh. Shh. It's okay. You don't have to tell me. All right?" He whispered, cupping her face in his hands. She nodded. "Come here. Shh. It's okay." Then, he gathered her to his chest. She clung to him, too afraid to let go.

After several moments, he got up, and scooped her into his arms, before taking her to her bedroom. Once there, he laid her on the bed, and after checking to make sure she was okay, he got up to go, when she grabbed his arm.

"Yero." He turned back to her. "Stay with me?" Seeing the need in her face, he nodded softly.

"Sure."

They sat on her bed, watching each other, both trying hard to figure out something to say. Finally, Fiyero leaned over and gently pressed his lips to hers in a sweet kiss. She drank in his taste, slowly wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him close. After several minutes, he wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her to him. When he broke away, he looked into her eyes, searching for signs of hesitation, before he reached up and gently unbuttoned her blouse.

The garment now hung over her covered breasts, the soft harlequin green mounds of her breasts pushed up slightly by the bra she wore. After several moments of eye contact, she reached out and ran a hand over his chest, working her fingers between the gaps in his shirt. Slowly, she traced the pattern of diamonds on his chest, once again meeting his eyes, and, taking a deep breath, she leaned forward and captured his lips in hers.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13.**

**Rifiuto: Non Miriena**

**A/N: Time for some Fiyeraba love...**

**Thanks to TragicallyBeautifulNessarose, lizziemagic and Tdfgh1 for reviewing 12.**

He kissed her, holding gently to her lips, drinking in her taste, as his arms slowly wrapped around her small, lithe body. She gave in, melting in his arms, allowing herself to enjoy the kiss. Her heart began to pound as her body quickly began to respond to the close proxminity of Fiyero's. All she had to do, was undress...

Her mind snapped back into action, and she frantically pushed him away, pulling back as the last button of her blouse came undone, the filmy material falling back against her taut stomach gently. She looked at him, fear shining in her dark eyes, before she moved to the edge of the bed and leaned forward to get up. But she didn't. Instead, she sat there, rocking gently back and forth, taking deep breaths to calm her racing heart.

Neither spoke for some time. When Fiyero did, he moved to sit next to her. "Fabala, I'm sorry-"

"No... i... it's not your fault, Yero, I... I just... I can't do this." She got up and began pacing back and forth in front of the bed. She tangled her hands in her hair as she paced, her words going a mile a minute in her head. "I... I'm not ready for this... I... I'm not the... the type of person who... who can handle a relationship... I'm not... someone who... who works well in a two-person commitment..."

"Elphaba... Elphaba, _calm down_." He got up, grabbing her hands to stop her from wearing a hole in the floor. "I'm not asking you to _marry me_, I'm just-" But one look at the fear in her eyes made him stop, and he sighed, releasing her. "I'm just... asking... to be friends." She watched as he returned to the bed, before speaking.

"Yero... you are my friend... you're one of my best friends... without you and Milla..." She licked her lips. "I... I don't know what I'd do..." She sat next to him, taking his hand in hers, and staring into his blue eyes. "You're the best friend I could ever have..." He wrapped her in a hug, kissing her hair before pulling away.

"I'd better go-" He got up to leave, when she grabbed his hand.

"Don't leave me alone, please, Yero. I... I don't want to be alone tonight. Not... not with... with Nessa..." He sat down next to her, staring into her eyes.

"All right, I won't leave you. I promise. I'll be right here." He wrapped her in a hug, and she clung to him, as she again began to shake with sobs. He rubbed her back, allowing her to break down. The recording had obviously shaken her deeply. After several moments, he moved back on the bed, laying back, holding her close. She burrowed into him, moving as close to him as she could. When she finally fell asleep hours later, Fiyero silently removed her from his chest, covered her with a blanket, and went to the window.

He sighed, watching the stars. He'd known Elphaba for ten years, and still found the woman laying sound asleep in the bed an enigma. With her piercing eyes, charming smile and dedicated nature, Elphaba was an innocent among ruined. He knew that she was no virgin, yet she possessed an almost child-like innocence that made her likeable among patients. Often, she specifically was requested.

She had a special touch with children- perhaps because of her attachment to her younger sister- and so gained their trust easily. She was friendly and patient with children, often telling them funny stories or playing games with them to get them to allow her to exam them. Parents trusted and followed her advice, often asking for her to perform surgery on their child if need be.

But now, with this lawsuit... with the Uplands threatening to destroy her career... everything Elphaba had worked so hard for could easily come crashing down around her if the Uplands got their way. If the Uplands won the lawsuit, Elphaba's career would be ruined, she'd never be allowed to practice medicine again; she'd be blacklisted in the medical community for all eternity. If Elphaba lost her license, it would destroy her. Glinda Merta was her life; she lived there, was tied to the hospital, and would be until the day she died.

He looked back at her, noting that now, she slept peacefully, without a care in the world to disturb her peace.

But how long would it last? How long would she be able to practice medicine before her license was revoked and she was forced to find another career, one that _didn't_ involve healing and saving patients?


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14.**

**Rifiuto: Non Miriena**

**A/N: This chapter has the whole Hippocratic Oath, and each chapter after, will have a line or two from the oath at the beginning. **

The pages flipped one over the other, passing before her eyes, as she went back over her notes from her days in medical school. Eventually, she stopped.

_I swear to fulfill, to the best of my ability and judgment, this covenant: __I will respect the hard-won scientific gains of those physicians in whose steps I walk, and gladly share such knowledge as is mine with those who are to follow. __I will apply, for the benefit of the sick, all measures [that] are required, avoiding those twin traps of overtreatment and therapeutic nihilism. __I will remember that there is art to medicine as well as science, and that warmth, sympathy, and understanding may outweigh the surgeon's knife or the chemist's drug. __I will not be ashamed to say "I know not," nor will I fail to call in my colleagues when the skills of another are needed for a patient's recovery. __I will respect the privacy of my patients, for their problems are not disclosed to me that the world may know. Most especially must I tread with care in matters of life and death. If it is given to me to save a life, all thanks. But it may also be within my power to take a life; this awesome responsibility must be faced with great humbleness and awareness of my own frailty. Above all, I must not play at God. __I will remember that I do not treat a fever chart, a cancerous growth, but a sick human being, whose illness may affect the person's family and economic stability. My responsibility includes these related problems, if I am to care adequately for the sick. __I will prevent disease whenever I can, for prevention is preferable to cure. __I will remember that I remain a member of society, with special obligations to all my fellow human beings, those sound of mind and body as well as the infirm. __If I do not violate this oath, may I enjoy life and art, respected while I live and remembered with affection thereafter. May I always act so as to preserve the finest traditions of my calling and may I long experience the joy of healing those who seek my help._

She had hastily written it down that first day of class, mushed it into one paragraph, and had since forgotten about it. Now, as she read back through it, she realized that she couldn't read her hasty handwriting, and even though she knew it by heart now, she wanted to rewrite it. Taking up her pen, she uncapped it, turned to a new page, and began to write.

_I swear to_

"Elphie?" Her head snapped up, and she looked up to see Milla standing in the locker room doorway. "What are you doing?" She slipped into the room and silently shut the door behind her.

"Just... I don't know... going back over one of my old journals from medical school, I guess." Elphaba's dark eyes went from the notebook in her hands to her friend.

"You kept them?"

"Didn't you?"

Milla shrugged. "Some. Not all. Only the ones that seemed really important."

"They're all really important, Mil." Elphaba replied, raising her eyebrows. Milla rolled her eyes as she leaned against the lockers and crossed her arms.

"Maybe-"

Suddenly, the door opened and Fiyero poked his head in. "Milla? Elphaba?" The girls turned towards him, waiting. "Diggs has called a meeting. Cafeteria. Now." Sighing, they followed, but Milla soon turned back, to see Elphaba slowly putting her notebook away.

"Coming, Elphie?"

"Yeah, I'm coming."

They left the locker room, making their way to the cafeteria, and once everyone was settled, Diggs called the meeting to order.

"I've called you all here, because Glinda Merta is facing another lawsuit." A buzz began, all except for Milla, Fiyero, and Elphaba, who slummed down further in her seat, arms crossed over her chest. "That's enough, calm down. Now, if you all remember, the last lawsuit brought against Glinda Merta involved Dr. Thropp-" Every head turned towards Elphaba, who sank further into her seat. "But this one we're facing now, actually involves the phlebotomist department."

Instantly, every head snapped towards the technicians whose job it was to draw blood for testing.

"Look on the bright side, Elphie, at least it wasn't you this time." Elphaba looked up into ShenShen's violet eyes as she squeezed her shoulder. The younger woman tried to give her a grateful smile, but instead grimaced; ShenShen got the point, and smiled back softly.

"It turns out, that quite a few patients have been diagnosed with KSNA, due to improper use of needles."

A murmur of surprise and horror spread throughout the cafeteria like wildfire, and every so often, glances would be cast towards the techs. Everyone knew how deadly and dangerous KSNA was; it could wipe out whole populations, infect anyone without their knowing, and cause a strain on the medical community due to no cure or working vaccine.

When meeting ended, they dispersed, some avoiding those that drew blood, as if they could spread the disease just by looking at them. As Fiyero, Elphaba, Milla and ShenShen returned to work, Elphaba stopped, reaching out to lay a hand on one of the nurse's shoulders. Slowly, Phanne turned around to stare into her eyes.

"I'm sorry-"

"Now I know how you feel." Phanne whispered, quickly meeting Elphaba's eyes before moving past and going towards the other locker room. When the door closed behind her, Elphaba returned to work.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15.**

**Rifiuto: Non Miriena**

**A/N: The beginning of the Hippocratic Oath...**

_"I swear to fulfill, to the best of my ability and judgment, this covenant:"_

The knock startled her from her writing, and she quickly rushed to open the door. After seeing her brother through the peephole, she quickly unlocked and opened the door, before stepping back and letting Shell inside.

"Hey!" She wrapped her brother in a hug once the door was closed, and then took his coat, ushering him into the living room. "What are you doing here, Shell?"

He shrugged. "Just wanted to come see you." He followed his sister into the kitchen, and watched her pour two cups of hot coffee before accepting one and taking a sip. "Thanks." She nodded.

"Sure thing." He looked quickly over the table, allowing his eyes to slowly rove over the notebook open on the table.

_I swear to fullfill..._

"Shell?" He jumped and turned to look at his sister. "You okay?"

"Yeah, just..." Her eyes flicked towards the notebook, and she waited. After several moments of silence, he said, "Never mind." She took a seat in the chair in front of the notebook, and then asked,

"How's Dad?"

"He's good." Shell told her, taking a seat across from her. "He's... sticking to the regiment you set him on... and he..."

"What?" She asked, at her brother's soft laughter.

"He keeps asking which one of us is going to have grandchildren first."

She sighed, rolling her eyes.

"Not that again." He nodded.

"That's what I was thinking."

"He's never going to give that up, is he?"

"Nope. Either one of us has to marry and-"

"Start popping out babies?" He nodded, chuckling.

"Or he has to die before he stops asking." Both rolled their eyes, knowing that their father was too stubborn and too healthy to kick off any time soon. She ran her finger over the rim of her cup before asking,

"Shell, do you... do you ever... do you ever have dreams about... about Nessa?"

Her brother stared at her for several minutes, before finally saying,

"You too?" The quizzical look she threw him caused him to explain. "Right after Nessa died, I started having really weird dreams about her in the hospital. And she... she'd always be in the surgical suite... in Room-"

"Two?" He nodded, at his sister's response.

"Yeah, how did you-"

"She died in Room Two, Shell. In the surgical suite." He took a deep breath before responding to his sister.

"I didn't-"

"You were only about five when she died."

"I know that. And... I remember visiting her in the hospital."

"I didn't know you... remembered her..." Shell shrugged.

"It's okay. I never told you that I remembered. I actually tried to forget, but... I couldn't."

They sat in silence for several minutes, sipping their coffee before Elphaba finally got up the nerve to speak.

"N... Nessa... called me... a couple nights ago."

"What do you mean?" He asked, looking at her.

"I... I mean she called me. She physically called me. She left a message on my answering machine."

"Seriously?"

"Seriously."

"Well... wh... what did she say?"

"She... she said that... that Glinda Merta was... was scaring her."

"Scaring her?" Shell raised his eyebrows. Elphaba nodded. "Why would it-"

"It scared me when I was a kid. Didn't it ever scare you?"

"Well, sure, but-"

"And Nessa was just as scared as we were. Shell, she went through surgery after surgery to try to make her walk, and they failed. She died in that hospital, in that suite, in that room. What if she's still there, Shell?"

"You don't believe in ghosts, Fabala."

"I know-"

"Then why-"

"Because she's our sister, Shell! Or did you forget that?"

"No, I... I just... it sounds_ insane_, Fabala."

"I know it does, but..."

Sighing, Shell got up and went to his sister, pulling her out of her chair and taking a seat before pulling her onto his lap. She snuggled into him, wrapping her arms around his neck and resting her head against his. He held her close, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"It's not that I don't believe you, Fabala, it's just that... I almost lost you, and... I just... I'm scared, Fabala."

"About what?" She asked, pulling away to look at her brother. Gently, she reached up to wipe the tears sliding down his cheeks.

"I... I keep having these nightmares that... where I... where I lose you... you die..."

"I'm not going anywhere, Shell. I promise. I'll never leave you." She told him, cuddling close again.

"I know, I just... I can't help thinking that..."

"Shh... shh..." She pressed a kiss to his forehead and pressed her forehead against his, allowing the fact that her brother was alive and real sink in.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16.**

**Rifiuto: Non Miriena**

**A/N: Anyone have any ideas on what KSNA is based on? I'll give you a hint, it's mentioned more than once in RENT.**

**Question: Wait almost lost her (Elphaba)? Am I missing something?**

**Answer: You'll find out in this chapter**

**Thanks to lizziemagic for reviewing 13, 14 and 15 and Issa(dot)wicked17 for reviewing 15.**

_"I will respect the hard-won scientific gains of those physicians in whose steps I walk, and gladly share such knowledge as is mine with those who are to follow."_

"Morning, Elphaba."

She looked up from her files to see Fiyero making his way towards the reception desk.

"Morning, Yero."

He waved, not bothering to hide a yawn, before taking a sip of hot coffee.

"Morning." Both looked up to see Milla enter. The redhead was perky and happy and didn't notice how tired her two companions were. She clipped her hair back with bobby pins before taking the files offered by Nor. "Thanks Nor."

"Sure thing, Dr. Fenvu."

"Why are you so chipper, Mil?" Elphaba asked, tossing her head to wake up. After several minutes, Milla said,

"No reason."

"You had a date last night, didn't you?" Elphaba asked, eyeing her friend. Slowly, Milla nodded.

"How'd you know?" The green woman rolled her eyes.

"I know you, Milla."

"How was your night, Elphie?" Fiyero asked, finishing his coffee. She shrugged.

"All right. Shell came over last night and we caught up on things."

"Did you tell him about Nessa?" Both turned to look at Milla, and after several moments of silence, she nodded.

"Yeah. I did."

"W... what did he say?" Elphaba sighed.

"He said that... that he didn't believe it, and that... that he almost lost me, and that he was afraid he was going to lose me- permanently."

"What do you mean he almost lost you?" Milla asked. Elphaba looked at her.

"I... was hit by a car when I was twelve. I was in the hospital for a week... the victim of a hit and run. They never caught the guy."

"So... that's what the scar is from." She nodded.

"What scar?" Fiyero asked.

"The scar on her shoulder." Milla said, and after several minutes, Elphaba removed her coat and blouse, before turning. There, going over her left shoulder, down over her chest and back, was a long, curving, hideous scar. It tangled down her back, stopping just above her tail-bone, and ended slightly above her left breast.

"It was more like... a hit, drag and run over. Not so much a hit and run." Elphaba said, glancing over her shoulder at her friends.

"Drag?" Fiyero asked, raising his eyebrows in confusion. She nodded.

"The car dragged me four miles." Milla shivered, as Elphaba rebuttoned her blouse. Once done, she turned to her work, going over her patients for the morning. Silence followed for several minutes, before Nor spoke up.

"Did you hear about the new lawsuit?"

All three heads snapped up.

"Lawsuit?" Milla asked.

Nor nodded. "Yep."

Fiyero sighed. "Not another one."

"What's it about this time?" Elphaba asked. Nor glanced quickly around, before turning back to them.

"The Mertons are bringing a lawsuit against Glinda Merta, saying that the hospital caused her suicide and ruined her career."

"Merton... Phanne Merton?" Elphaba asked, running the phrase quickly over in her head. "Phanne committed suicide?" Nor nodded. "When? Where? How? I... I saw her a couple days ago after the meeting, and she... she seemed sad, but... but not... not _suicidal_..." Elphaba whispered. Nor shrugged. "Where did they find her?"

"I don't know. All I know is that she killed herself."

"Morning all." They all turned, to see Avaric enter, a cup of coffee in his hand.

"Avaric, did you hear about-"

"Phanne?" He finished, meeting Elphaba's eyes. He nodded. "Yeah. I heard."

"What happened? I saw her after meeting and she seemed fine."

Just as Avaric opened his mouth, a swarm of people entered the hospital, and everyone had to get to work. But they all met up in the cafeteria during lunch to discuss the suicide.

"Where... who found her?" Fiyero asked, as Milla slid into the seat next to him.

"Her younger sister. A... apparently, she was going to spend the next couple of nights with Phanne, and when she got to the apartment, the door was unlocked. She went in, looked around, and wandered into the bedroom before going out onto the balcony. Poor kid. Said she was hanging from the balcony railing, a scarf around her neck. A neighbor said he saw her come out onto the balcony that night and he waved to her, but she didn't see him. Police think she'd been there since eleven the night before." Avaric said. He lived two floors down from Phanne, and had been returning from work the next morning to find the apartment complex swarming with police and paramedics.

Elphaba shivered from her seat next to him. "I walked out to the parking lot with her that night and she was... quiet but... but that was _normal_ for her... Phanne was... always quiet. It was in her nature to be... she didn't seem off... the only thing she said was that... that she hated that Diggs singled out the phlebotomist department. She said that it... it made her feel like she was being reprimanded for having cookies before dinner."

"It's not fair. Phanne had so much promise." Milla whispered, summing up what they were all thinking.

Who would be the next to go?


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17.**

**Rifiuto: Non Miriena**

**Question: How did Yero not see that scar when they *almost* slept together?**

**Answer: He wasn't paying attention to her skin**

**Question: is KSNA based on AIDS?**

**Answer: yes  
**

**Thanks to lizziemagic and Issa(dot)wicked17 for reviewing 16.**

_"I will apply, for the benefit of the sick, all measures [that] are required, avoiding those twin traps of overtreatment and therapeutic nihilism."_

"As you all know, the body of Phanne Merton was discovered last night in her apartment. The coroner has determined that she committed suicide. While we all will mourn her passing, we must remember that this is a hospital, and the death of one colleague must not get in the way of saving thousands of patients."

"What about the lawsuit, Mr. Diggs?" Elphaba asked, raising her hand. The older man turned to her, suprise on his face. Instantly, everyone turned to look at the green-skinned doctor.

"Lawsuit? I don't know what you're talking about, Dr. Thropp." He replied. Her eyes narrowed.

"You know _perfectly well_ that Phanne's parents are bringing a lawsuit against you and this hospital for causing their daughter's death!" Elphaba snapped, standing.

Silence.

"This meeting is over. Back to work, all of you." Diggs replied coldly. Once he was gone, the rest of the staff stood and began to leave the cafeteria. Slowly, Milla, Fiyero and Avaric stood, joining Elphaba, who had crossed her arms and was glaring at the door that Diggs had exited moments earlier.

"He didn't answer your question."

"No shit, Shirley." Elphaba snapped, barely glancing at Milla.

"What do you think's going to happen?" The redhead asked softly. Fiyero shrugged.

"Well, whatever it is, it's not going to be anything good." Avaric said, glancing at the others. "Come on." They slowly followed Avaric out of the cafeteria; several minutes passed before Elphaba followed, leaving the cafeteria last.

They returned to work, going through their daily routine, thoughts of Phanne fresh in their minds. With each appointment, Elphaba would look into the patient's eyes, finding herself wishing that the eyes belonged to her dearly departed friend.

Elphaba and Phanne had been in the same class; graduated the same year; interned at the same hospital within months of each other. They had been roommates in college, renting an apartment together all through undergraduate and graduate school, before going their seperate paths after graduation. But they'd met up again when they both started working at Glinda Merta, and had rekindled their old college friendship, going out for drinks or coffee on their days off or spending nights at each others' places reminicising about college days.

Now, those late nights of martinis and chocolate were gone; no more flipping through old photo albums, no more watching old home movies, no more laughing and joking about college pranks... those days ended when Phanne slipped the scarf around her neck and threw herself over the side of her balcony.

Slipping into the locker room, Elphaba made her way towards Phanne's locker, fiddled briefly with the lock, and then quickly ran through the combination, opening the locker door. The locker was mostly empty, save for the white lab coat that hung inside. On the floor, propped against a wall, was a book of some kind. Slowly, she reached down, picking the booklet up and looking at it.

_The Black Rose_

A bookmark stuck out between several pages- evidence that Phanne had been reading it at the time of her death. Slowly, Elphaba flipped through it, returning to the front page.

_Phanie,_

_I found this at an antique shop in Munchkinland when I went down to visit the my parents in March. I know how much you love Katila Senz, and when I found this, I had to get it for you. If you notice, it's an original first copy of The Black Rose, from 1825. I hope you enjoy it._

_Love always,_

_Elphie_

Elphaba was the only one allowed to call her Phanie. A nickname originating during college, it had stuck, and was only allowed to be used by one person, and one person only.

To anyone else, it was just a useless book, but to Phanne, it was special. Flipping pages, she eventually came across a faded photograph. Two girls- one in bell bottoms and a halter top and the other in a mini dress and go-go boots- sat on the hood of an old car, making faces at the camera. Flipping the photograph over, she found the writing on the back to be faded and worn, more so than the photograph it was written on.

_Phanie and Elphie, 1976_

Taking a deep breath, she slipped the photograph back into the book, closed it, and then closed the locker, before turning and leaving. Once she made it home, she shut the door softly behind her, removed her coat and bag, and then hurried upstairs, collapsing on her bed and holding the book she'd taken from Phanne's locker to her chest. Twenty minutes later, she began to cry.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18.**

**Rifiuto: Non Miriena**

**Question: She (Phanne) wasn't one of the people who got sued for malpractice was she?**

**Answer: Yes, she was.**

******Thanks to lizziemagic and James Birdsong for reviewing 17.**

_"I will remember that there is art to medicine as well as science, and that warmth, sympathy, and understanding may outweigh the surgeon's knife or the chemist's drug."_

"Morning everyone."

"Morning Milla."

"How are you doing?"

"I'm doing okay." The redhead glanced around quickly. "Is Elphie here?" Both Fiyero and Nor shook their heads.

"She hasn't come in yet." Fiyero replied, returning his attention to his patient records before handing them over to Nor. "Schedule an appointment for the twenty-third for Mrs. Sarx, please, Nor." The receptionist nodded, taking the records. "I'll see you in a couple weeks. Keep going to your lamaze classes, you'll be fine. Okay?"

The woman nodded. "Thank you, Dr. Tiggular." He smiled at her.

"You're welcome. And congratulations."

When the woman wa gone, Milla turned to him. "What's she having?"

"A little girl."

The chatter was cut short by the double doors opening. Everyone turned, to see Elphaba enter. She said nothing, just made her way towards the receptionist desk, stopping in front of Milla and Fiyero.

"Elphie?" Slowly, the doctor turned her dark eyes towards her colleague.

"What happened to you?" She didn't even glance at Fiyero.

"Are you okay, Dr. Thropp? You don't look too good." Nor said, eyeing the doctor. Moments passed before Elphaba finally replied,

"Ah... I didn't sleep much last night. I stayed up and chain-smoked-"

"You... don't... chain... smoke." Milla replied slowly, shaking her head. A slight shrug was her reply before,

"I decided to start." After a moment, Milla went to her friend and reached out, brushing a thick strand of black hair off her shoulder. On closer inspection, Milla saw that the young doctor's thick raven hair was knotted, unkempt and greasy- almost as if she hadn't washed it in a week. Dark circles embraced her eyes, and she was ashen and shaky. Her lips were ripped; her nose was red and swollen, and there were bruises on her cheeks and neck, almost like she'd been beaten. She walked with a slight limp, and Milla could see scratches or gashes on her wrists. Her fingernails were ripped to the quick, and her knuckles were cracked and swollen. The backs of her hands were dry and dressed in fresh scabs. Reaching down, Milla gently lifted her friend's hand; the palm- both palms, now that she saw them both- had holes in them, almost like she'd dug into her flesh with a carving knife. The life line of her left hand was cut open, and there were razor cuts on her wrists- both fresh and old. Glancing at both Fiyero and Nor, Milla just nodded.

_There's no way she can work like this. I'm going to take her home._

Fiyero and Nor nodded.

"I'll let the others know." Nor told her.

Milla nodded, smiling quickly at her before wrapping an arm around her friend's shoulders and leading her from the hospital.

The ride back to Elphaba's place was quiet; though Milla's thoughts were screaming inside her. As they closed the front door, Milla removed her purse before going into the kitchen to fix a cup of tea for her friend.

The kitchen- the whole house, in fact- was an absolute mess. Dishes were piled in the sink, the floors were covered in dust, and several open bottles of alcohol and cartons of cigarettes littered the room. Obviously, Elphaba had been so distraught over Phanne's death that she'd been unable to take care of herself for the last three days.

"Sorry about the mess." Elphaba mumbled, moving past Milla, who grabbed her arm.

"You're not staying here, Elphie. You'll stay with me tonight." She said, gently tugging Elphaba from the room.

The drive to Milla's apartment was even quieter. When they closed the door to Milla's apartment, she led Elphaba into the bathroom, started the shower and then undressed her. With each article of clothing that fell, she discovered more evidence of what Elphaba had been doing over the weekend since Phanne's death.

Small, circular burns that looked like cigarettes, dotted her arms, chest and stomach. Small cuts lined her inner thighs and arms; scars from ripped blister scabs dotted the bottoms of her feet. As Milla reached behind her to unhook her bra, she couldn't help placing her hands on first Elphaba's ribs, then her small hips and waist. She could feel the ribcage through the skin- not uncommon, seeing as Elphaba was so skinny- but what was uncommon was that she could feel each individual rib and the gaps between. Her waist had almost caved in, and her hips jutted out in twin prongs even more than normal.

It seemed...

It seemed almost as if she'd starved herself over the weekend.

Starting the shower, Milla helped Elphaba in before joining her. As the water rained around them, she ran her hands over her colleague's body; normally, if she were in the shower with another female, this very movement would bring about arousal for her, but now, it only brought fear. As she continued to run her hands over the other woman's waist, between her thighs and around her back, she became even more alarmed at what she found.

Cuts coated her arms and inner thighs, almost as if she was cutting down there to hide the evidence. Milla knew that some of the cuts on her arms were from years ago, not long after Nessa had died, but the majority of them were only days old. Her ankle was swollen and she was shaking so violently that Milla was afraid she was having a seizure. Moments passed in silence, with only the sound of the water around them. Eventually, Milla asked,

"Elphie, have you eaten anything today?"


End file.
